West Seattle, Washington
28 Thursday
(2007 view of Fauntleroy fish ladder)
Heartening news from Judy Pickens — the worst-case fears about Fauntleroy Creek‘s salmon season apparently are not coming to pass:
We DO have home hatch in Fauntleroy Creek! We had thought that all the eggs from last fall’s spawning surely washed out in the December 3 storm but not so. Several coho fry were sighted March 6 above the fish ladder and more may show up during a thorough survey. The ability of redds to survive the scouring of a major storm is remarkable and truly heartening for the future of salmon in our urban creeks.
If you’ve never been to the Fauntleroy fish ladder, it’s directly east of (and up the slope from) the ferry terminal. Read its history here.
We mentioned last weekend that the ferry Issaquah would leave the Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth run this weekend for “fuel-tank cleaning.” Didn’t know till tonight (official Washington State Ferries news release here) that the cleaning is to prep it for the latest biodiesel test starting Monday. Two other ferries are set to try biodiesel starting this spring, including the Tillikum, which also is currently on the Fauntleroy run. The “triangle route” was also involved in a biodiesel test in 2004, suspended because of fuel-filter trouble. (That test involved 20% biodiesel; this new one involves a 5% mix.)
If your mental image of a Chamber of Commerce resembles something centering on a tight-knit clique of good ol’ boys in leisure suits, boozing and schmoozing in a back room somewhere, you should know that bears no resemblance to what’s going on with the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce these days. Just the other day, in fact, West Seattle Chamber executive director Patti Mullen facilitated the latest edition of a semi-regular gathering that was the antithesis of that old stereotype — a casual event reaching toward the traditional goal of a healthy business community in a largely nontraditional way:Read More
Two months ago, we covered a hearing in West Seattle about permits the Nucor mill (Delridge/Andover) requested to modify a crane so it can add operating hours. (The red arrow in the photo above points to where that will happen.) For anybody keeping track, the official decisions are starting to roll in – just got a note from the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency that it’s issued a permit required for this; you can read the associated fine print by following four links here.
The removal of a whole row of big evergreens along two lots lining the east side of 41st between Rose and Southern (take your pick whether this is south Gatewood or north Upper Fauntleroy) had several people e-mailing us today — one calling it a “tree massacre” — to ask “can they DO that?” We checked it out and the answer appears to be “yes,” since the trees were on private, already-developed property with older houses – if that defines your property, you can cut down trees without a permit. Both lots on the block appear to be real-estate listings no longer on the market; the site shown in the photo still has an aerial-photo map that gives you an idea of how many trees were there before. The parcel now likely has a major view, as it’s on the west-facing slope, looking toward the Sound, Blake, Vashon, Olympics, etc. No development permits filed for either lot so far.
So says the city, citing 2006 stats. Still a ways to go to the 60 percent target rate.
Hard to believe that the Exxon Valdez oil-spill case is not over yet, 19 years after the tanker catastrophe that soiled Alaska’s Prince William Sound and ravaged its wildlife. But today, U.S. Supreme Court justices hear oral arguments in one ongoing case — Exxon is arguing that it should not have to pay punitive damages to more than 30,000 people affected by the spill — and a West Seattle photojournalist’s work will be part of the plaintiffs’ exhibit. Natalie Fobes (shown left while on assignment in Siberia) was one of the first photojournalists on the scene; she got there the day after the spill. She says she “hitch-hiked her way around (Prince William) Sound on fishing boats and mail planes while many photographers and journalists were stuck in Valdez waiting for a plane or helicopter charter,” spending the next few months documenting the devastation as she lived with fishermen, Native Alaskan families, and cleanup workers. Fobes testified in person at some of the earlier trials. You can see some of her photos at Fobes’ website here. She says, “I got into photojournalism to make a difference. To have my photographs included in one of the largest environmental cases ever argued before the Supreme Court is amazing.”
That’s a new map that could change your life, for the better: the draft of the first-ever West Seattle Walking Trails map, whose creators want to hear your take on it, before they draft the final version. (Click the image above, or this link, to download the whole thing as a PDF so you can zoom in to your neighborhood, your favorite walking route, or just to get a closer look at all of it.) One of the project ringleaders is the tireless West Seattle activist Chas Redmond, who explains what it is and how you can help with it:
Feet First, in partnership with Morgan Community Association, Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association, the Southwest and Delridge District Councils, The Southwest Historical Society, every community association here in WS and other organizations such as the West Seattle Junction Association and West Seattle Chamber of Commerce, present the first draft of the now-Climate Action Now program grant-funded walking trails map.
This is the first public review – folks should examine it, suggest changes – both additive and subtractive. There will be a second draft based on the comments of the first draft. SDOT will have the final review and there will probably be some changes from that resulting in a – final – third draft.
In the meantime, the back side of the map – which will include write-ups on every neighborhood and organization and signature interest point – will hit the streets. Probably two weeks from now we’ll have the text draft, which will coincide with the closing of comments for the first draft. The back side review will also include a second review round.
Folks should comment not only on the trails, the evolution of which can be learned by reading the contents of westseattlewalks.org, but also on the use of symbols, the correct location of schools and parks (we’ve checked, always helps to triple check), the color scheme (we’re limited to two colors to get max number of copies), and anything else.
Within a month or so we’ll have 20,000 copies of this map, which will be folded to a size about like a Metro route schedule. We have a complex and involved distribution scheme which should allow everyone in WS to at least have access to a copy. Eventually we’ll reprint in larger numbers, but want this first version to not only serve the neighborhood, but serve as a learning tool for what an urban wayfinding system and info tools about such a system might be like and how they might be better. A year of using this map will teach all of us – including the users – a whole new dimension in getting around – we hope, anyway.
Here’s the link again to take a close-up look at the map as a PDF (using zoom if you choose). As Chas mentioned, there’s a lot of backstory on the parent site for that link, westseattlewalks.org – once you’ve reviewed the map, Chas asks that comments be sent to him (credmond@mac.com) and Feet First’s Seth Schromen-Wawrin (seth@feetfirst.info).
Updated information from the Seattle Fire Department is that up to 600 gallons of dimethyl carbonate got into Elliott Bay after the Terminal 5 spill early this morning involving a punctured container being offloaded from the Hyundai Patriot. SFD was “wrapping up” its role in the operation as of early afternoon, with other agencies still involved in containment and cleanup. The fire department says no one was hurt.
Almost missed this one – city news release from yesterday with future recycling changes, including the end of separation requirements for glass and “everything else” (yay), plus an expansion of the kinds of plastic that can be recycled.
Too good not to share immediately (the deadline to apply is Friday) – someone in West Seattle just might be perfect:Read More
Thanks to Jerry from JetCityOrange for that photo of the Luna Park Cafe-branded Smart car he just spotted yesterday. They get about 40 mpg, according to this page on the Smart website. One more note about driving with a bit more environmental sensibility – biodiesel users will want to check out some local-availability updates in this topic on the WSB Forums.
SUMMER THEATER SIGNUPS: ArtsWest’s Musical Theater Conservatory for 12-16-year-olds is doing “Pippin” this year; signups start today.
SUSTAINABLE WEST SEATTLE: Annual meeting, 7 pm @ Camp Long. More info here.
To see what’s happening later this week – such as the City Light meeting tomorrow about where crews will soon be trimming MANY trees in West Seattle — check the WSB Events list.
At the bottom of a slope along the southern half of Beach Drive, those ivy-wrapped trees are posted for removal by the city at the end of this month. This has been a busy site — a mudslide in the December storm, a “vegetation-removal” project to the north a few months earlier, a tree from the west side of the street that came down and blocked BD in the December ’06 storm. The notice posted on the “No Parking” signs says these trees will be removed because they’re in “poor health”; we have been trying to reach the city Urban Forestry department (listed on the notice as a contact) to find out whether the trees will be replaced, but haven’t heard back yet.
In case you missed the spectacular sunbreaks while, oh, say, indoors watching The Game … above, we present a snippet of video from Beach Drive, as the sun held court over Vashon. Below, we dropped by the Pigeon Point Park environmental-restoration work party (video preview here) and while the Nature Consortium folks and their volunteers were just getting going, we found artist Aaron Voronoff already well into the process of making an ever-evolving sculpture out of trash and plant debris that work-party participants were collecting:
Voronoff’s creation was to be disposed of later, by the way. The Nature Consortium tells us that most of its work parties feature environmental entertainment like this, with artists, musicians, etc.
Have you ever been to Pigeon Point Park? The trail we walked in the video clip above is just a small part of this hidden treasure next to Cooper Elementary School in northeast West Seattle. Tomorrow, it’s one of the places on the WS “east side” that will get special attention during Green Delridge Day — plenty of time for you to participate before settling in for the Seahawks game. The Pigeon Point Park event is the first-ever work party there for the Nature Consortium, whose restoration-project staffers Mark Tomkiewicz and Elizabeth McDonald gave us a mini-tour (much of which we videotaped):Read More
The red arrow in the photo above (from this page on the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency website) shows the spot where the Nucor steel plant (Delridge/Andover) wants to upgrade a crane so it can operate more hours. Because more hours mean more emissions, Nucor needs state and regional permits; tonight’s public hearing at the Alki Community Center provided the chance for supporters and opponents to have their say. One of the shortest public hearings we’ve ever attended:Read More
COYOTE REPORT: Just in from Katherine – “WOW! Heard maybe 3 coyotes howling and crying early this morning from Pelly Place Natural Area, which is near Lowman Beach Park.” (ADDED 10:30 PM, Alex reports a coyote trying to cross California SW tonight near SW Willow; traffic spooked it, he said, and it retreated back westbound onto Willow.)
TREE TAKEDOWN: No doubt this will be a big weekend for taking down the Christmas tree. In addition to the tree-recycling/disposal info we featured in this post-Christmas report, we also have more details about a youth group’s treecycling fundraiser on Saturday: Local Rainbow Girls are taking trees 10 am-2 pm tomorrow at the Alki Masonic Hall (4736 40th; map here) for a $5 donation; the trees will be mulched.
SCHOOL-TOUR TIME: Some West Seattle private schools are already back in post-winter-break session; public schools return Monday. At both private and public schools, tour and open-house time is kicking into high gear, because it’s application season for the ’08-’09 school year (already!). We are adding tour and open-house info to the WSB Events page as fast as we find/receive it; please let us know what’s up at your school. More to come on school-decision season – including a spotlight on some multischool events including the West Seattle Middle School Information Night (with reps from private and public middle schools around WS) at Gatewood Elementary next Thursday.
Inspired by the waste-saving tip that Chris sent to WSB regarding canceling phone-book deliveries if you don’t want/need them (read about it here), someone else from WSB-land (who wanted to be anonymous) forwarded two recycling tips: First, if you have CDs or DVDs to get rid of, you can recycle them by mailing them – in any quantity — to the CD Recycling Center of America. It launched earlier this year; read about it here, and get the how-to specifics on their FAQ page here. Here’s the second forwarded tip, regarding holiday cards (this eHow page appears to be the original source):
Instead of throwing out your old holiday cards, consider donating them to charitable groups that will create new cards – or turn them into new cards yourself.
Things You’ll Need
* Gift Tags
* Ribbons
* Blank Cards
* Electronic Greeting Cards
* Holiday Greeting Cards
* Hole PunchersStep One
Send holiday cards to St. Jude’s Ranch, a nonprofit home for youths that collects old holiday cards for reuse. Either cut off the backs of the cards or leave them intact. Children at St. Jude’s earn money by creating new holiday cards from the old.Step Two
Mail the cards UPS “ground” or “bound printed matter” to St. Jude’s Card Recycling, 100 St. Jude Street, P.O. Box 60100, Boulder City, NV 89006.Step Three
Cut off the backs of old holiday cards that do not have writing behind the front and use them as postcards.Step Four
Create your own card by cutting and pasting parts of old cards onto a new blank card. You can find packages of blank cards at most arts and crafts stores.Step Five
Use old holiday cards as gift tags by cutting them into square or rectangular shapes and punching holes in the corners for string or ribbon.Step Six
Make placemats out of holiday cards instead of buying new ones. Cut out pictures or shapes from the old cards, place them between two pieces of contact paper and press together.Step Seven
Save holiday cards for arts and crafts throughout the year if you have children.
One last recycling note for now – if you’re ready to recycle your Christmas tree, here’s the info we shared the day after Christmas.
Got this e-mail from Chris (thank you!):
We got yet ANOTHER set of phone books today. If these are junk mail
(and a colossal waste of paper) to you, give them a call and opt out.Verizon: 1-800-888-8448
This number came right off the front of the book, and my call was
quickly answered.
Let us just say, we USED TO love phone books, but as online searching gets easier and easier, at our house they go straight to the recycling bin, and what a waste that is. So in case that’s how things work at your place, we thought we’d pass this along. We don’t get Verizon books here; found this number for Dex — 800-422-1234 — choose option 4 first, then choose option 2; even though the recording doesn’t specifically say “press this number to cancel directory delivery,” the person we reached after those two choices said that’s the right place to call. (Found this related website, too.)
Just out from Seattle Public Utilities. We won’t get to read through it till later but wanted to get you the links now.
We personally would like to encourage everyone to savor the season. However, in all practicality, we know some thoughts are turning to the yearly task of Tossing The Tree. Here is the official “how to put it out with your yard waste” press release, which includes this all-important info:
Seattle residents who subscribe to curbside yard and food waste collection can put their trees and greens out on their regular collection day at no extra charge from December 26, 2007 to January 13, 2008. Trees should be cut into sections of six feet long or shorter, with branches trimmed to less than four feet to fit into the collection trucks. Sections should be bundled with string or twine.
Trees that are flocked and/or have tinsel or ornaments will be collected as extra garbage. Customers will need to cut the tree into three-foot pieces and each piece will be charged as extra garbage. Each unit of extra garbage costs $5.60. Plastic trees are also not recyclable.
Seattle residents can also drop off their holiday trees and greens for free at Seattle Public Utilities’ North and South Recycling and Disposal stations between December 26, 2007 and January 13, 2008.
The tree sections must be cut to eight feet or less in length and the trunk must be four inches or smaller in diameter. The limit is three trees per vehicle. Only trees without flocking or decoration may be disposed of free of charge.
If you want to do less tree-cutting and so would prefer to drop off your tree, the South Recycling Station in South Park is the closest one to West Seattle; the city has a map here but it doesn’t address getting there from WS, so here’s a map you can use for starters (choose the “driving directions” option). Now, if you still don’t want to go to all that trouble, CL is awash in listings from people you can pay to take your tree away; if you know of any local volunteer or nonprofit groups doing that in West Seattle this year, please e-mail us so we can feature them on WSB.
A new development three weeks after we first wrote about Nucor‘s application for permits to upgrade a crane. When we first heard about it, thanks to an eagle-eyed WSB reader, time for public comment was already running out, and a note on the public posting said a hearing would be scheduled only if there was “significant public interest.” Looks like somebody subsequently expressed that level of interest; Trissa just e-mailed WSB (thank you!) with word that a public hearing is now set for January 9 @ Alki Community Center (more details here), plus a note that the time for public comment has been extended to January 14 (more on that here). We’ll add both dates shortly to our ever-growing West Seattle-wide Events page.
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